​TheMachineBreakers
BBC Radio 2 Folk Show praised as “a great live band… this is a great track that just about sums up modern Britain".
Folk Indie storytellers
Festival Appearances
Wimborne Minster Folk
BunkFest
Broadstairs Folk Week
BBC Radio 2 Folk Show + live session at BBC Pebble Mill
Supported
Paul Young,
Jools Holland,
All About Eve, Ezio
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Song featured in documentary The Great British Mortgage Swindle, available on Amazon Prime
LIVE VIDEO
BIO
The Machine Breakers hail from Oxfordshire, blending raw rock energy with folk intimacy. Their acclaimed album The Bells Ring Anyway was nominated for a U.S. Indie Acoustic Award, while BBC Introducing’s Dave Gilyeat called their work “lush, masterfully put together.” They’ve earned recognition from Mike Harding, Ray Davies, and Steve Winwood, alongside airplay on BBC Radio 2 and Introducing. Influenced by The Who, Paul Weller, John Martyn, and Imogen Heap, they craft songs of social justice, love, and the complexities of modern British life—performed with conviction, humour, and heart.
FESTIVALS
Larmer Tree
Broadstairs Folk Week
BunkFest
Cromer Folk on the Pier
Wimborne Minster Folk
Beggars Fair
Faringdon FollyFest
Hook Norton Festival
Wheaton Aston Festival
Bridgnorth Festival
REVIEWS
MIKE HARDING BBC FOLK SHOW
“Now I’m going to kick off with a track from one of my favourite bands – The Machine Breakers. I think they are amazing. They write great great melodies and they tell it pretty much like it is. From their album The Bells Ring Anyway this is a fantastic track called ‘Mediocrity’. Just listen to this. In my humble opinion, the lyrics are stunning.”
DAVID WARDLE TRADITIONAL MUSIC MAKER
"Sea Green is the second CD from the Machine Breakers, and is a highly accomplished and thoughtful piece of work......Julian Pollard is a fine songwriter whose talent is well worth discovering. His songs tend to be on the intense side, which match his vocal style well. In fact, there is a feeling of intensity about this album. This is not an album for a casual listen. Close listening is demanded, and will be rewarded."
DAVE GILYEAT
BBC INTRODUCING
I’m glad I got to play that, The Machine Breakers with Time Waits for No Man, so lush, it’s got that hefty guitar sound and plucking strings, masterfully put together."
BBC RADIO 2
"Great live band...this is a great track that just about sums up modern Britain....
Songwriting praised by Ray Davies - The Kinks, and Steve Winwood
TOXIC PETE - RHYTHM AND BOOZE
"It certainly doesn't seem like 2 years since their last album but it most definitely is and the wait has been well worth it. The Bells Ring Anyway' has a silkier feel to it, a new richness, a professionalism, yet it still retains the powerful, raw spirit of Julian Pollard's earthy songs. This album is a brilliant piece of modern aural sculpture and by far the best thing thus far from this talented acoustic 4 piece."
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Downloadable Files
The Machine Breakers | Full Bio
The Machine Breakers | Press Quotes
The Machine Breakers | One Sheet
The Machine Breakers | One Liners
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Available on Request
The Machine Breakers | BBC Radio Quotes Reel - 30 sec
Tech & Logistics
Flexible sets (30/45/60/90 min)
Quick changeovers, DI-ready
Stage plot + input list
CONTACT Management
